Eavesdropping
by rukia-neesan
Summary: Mizuiro sees more than they think he does.


This is the first of 14 or so one-shots I wrote during NaNoWriMo. I'll be posting one of these every other week, alternating with new chapters of Haunted. Most of them are funny, a couple are serious, and one is rather angsty; all of them are rated K-T. They cover a wide range of characters, but most of them have Rukia in them, seeing as she's my favourite character in Bleach. Hope you enjoy them!

xx

Mizuiro isn't stupid.

For a long time now, he has pretended not to see things. He hasn't asked Ichigo about the strange black outfit he wears sometimes, or the sword he carries then. He hasn't mentioned the fact that he saw Ichigo helping Don Kanonji, or the realisation that someone else occasionally occupies Ichigo's body. He hasn't asked about Ichigo's mysterious friends, or said anything about the odd feeling that washes across him just before Ichigo excuses himself to the bathroom. Hasn't commented on the sudden friendship between Ichigo, Sado, Ishida-kun, Inoue-san, and the mysterious Kuchiki-san.

But even with all of this, there is one thing that Mizuiro can't just ignore.

He has listened in on quite a few conversations between Ichigo and his new friends, enough to have put together a pretty good picture of what has been going on. It's hard to believe, but after all that Mizuiro has seen, he would have to be an idiot to disbelieve what he's heard by now.

And Mizuiro, despite his failing grades, is not stupid.

Which is why, the next time the five of them excuse themselves from class, he waits a minute and then follows them. Mizuiro is determined to see what this is all about.

He slips down the stairs and out of the school, following both the sounds of running footsteps and the strange feeling in the air. Out the gates, around the corner, down two blocks...

He sees the group ahead of him now; they've stopped halfway down the street, and Mizuiro can now see _why_.

The thing facing them resembles a gorilla, with strong beefy arms and human-like hands. It's taller than the two-story shop it stands beside, and its face is covered by a mask that looks like it's made of bone. Mizuiro ducks around a nearby wall before its eyes, glowing red behind the mask, can catch sight of him.

This must be one of the _hollows _that Ichigo and the others keep discussing in lowered voices, huddled together in secluded corners.

He watches from behind the corner of a building as Ichigo and Kuchiki-san, both wearing those black robes, advance on the ten-foot monster. They have swords drawn, and as if on cue, the two of them leap high into the air. Kuchiki-san stops in midair, then throws something like a blue fireball at the creature; while it's distracted, Ichigo swings down with his giant cleaver.

He misses; the monster swings at him with one large fist, nearly catching Ichigo's leg. Mizuiro snorts; it seems that Ichigo, while skilled with hand-to-hand combat, is still shaky when it comes to handling a blade that's as tall as he is. While floating in midair.

Somewhere in Mizuiro's rational mind, a voice is quietly telling him that he must have gone crazy. Mizuiro shushes it and continues to watch the battle.

Ichigo lands hard on the pavement, curses, and lunges upward again. Still standing on air, Kuchiki-san charges at the _hollow;_ it shoots a greenish... energy bolt? at her, which she calmly sidesteps. She swings her blade down toward the monster, which barely manages to dodge her. She follows up with a second slash, and the hollow bellows in pain as she cuts one of its arms off. The wound doesn't bleed, startling Mizuiro; what _are _these creatures?

The other arm swings toward her from the back. Mizuiro holds his breath; she turns, but it looks like she might not be fast enough.

Before the arm can connect with Kuchiki-san, Ichigo is already there; he slices at its mask, but another green bolt catches him across the shoulder. Mizuiro winces.

Kuchiki-san turns, yelling something at Ichigo, then disappears, reappearing behind the monster's head and slicing deep into the mask. The creature screams one last time and vanishes, dissolving into something blue and sparkling which then dissipates into the air.

Sado and the others rush out from the alley they had been hiding in. Inoue-san runs straight up to Ichigo and puts her hands to her head; a ball of orange light appears in front of her, and she places it over his burned shoulder. When it touches him, the injury fades, even the cloth mending itself.

Now that their mission is completed, the five of them start back toward the school. Mizuiro moves deeper into the shadows, concealing himself as they head toward his hiding spot. He needs a minute to think about what he's just seen.

So, Ichigo and Kuchiki-san are... what? Some kind of warriors? He recalls hearing the term _Shinigami_, but is unsure what the significance is. Ichigo isn't dead, is he? How was Kuchiki-san able to shoot fireballs? Judging by what he's heard, that monster was probably a _hollow_, but where had it come from, and why was Ichigo fighting it? Why had Ishida-kun and Sado come with, seeing as they hadn't contributed anything to the fight? And what exactly _had _Inoue-san done to heal Ichigo's arm?

He'd come along today hoping to get some _answers, _not more questions.

He perks up slightly as the group walks slowly past, not even paying attention to their surroundings; Ichigo and Kuchiki-san seem to be having an argument. He listens carefully, hoping that he'll hear something else useful.

"Ichigo," says Kuchiki-san scathingly, in a tone entirely unlike the one she uses at school, "I told you already, I can handle myself just fine when fighting. That wasn't even an Arrancar, just a high-level hollow. Your injury was _entirely_ unnecessary!"

"Che," scoffs Ichigo. "That was nothing, and Inoue fixed it in, like, three seconds. I don't see why you're still going on about this." He scowls. "And I still don't like it when you fight alone, Rukia. You just got your powers back, and I don't want you pushing yourself."

Kuchiki-san smacks him upside the head; Mizuiro is startled, but barely manages to keep himself from snickering. "_Tawake_!" she yells. "I've been doing this sort of thing for more than fifty years, I think I know my own limits better than you do!" She huffs, speeding up to walk past Ichigo, and they all move out of earshot.

Mizuiro leans against the building for a moment longer. He's definitely got a lot to think about now, and a few new pieces to fill out the puzzle of what-is-going-on-with-Ichigo. But at the moment, only one thing sticks out in his mind.

Kuchiki-san is cute. She's smart, headstrong, and she can handle a sword like she was born for it.

And she's more than _fifty years old_.

Mizuiro grins. He's always been a sucker for older women, and it seems like Kuchiki-san is no exception.

_Ichigo, I hate to break it to you, but from now on, you've got _competition.

Whistling happily, Mizuiro makes his way back toward the school.


End file.
